06/11/2012, Loreto
Upon arriving at the fishing panga marina in Loreto, one first notices the new construction. The breakwater has been redone and the signage is extensive for the work yet to come.
Glancing around to get my bearings, I spied a tower. While certainly not at heights for an aviation tower, it is up there. What really got my attention is the full size door located in the side about 30 feet in the air. HUH?
We got a few good chuckles trying to decide what it's use is, and decided the following was our winner:
The tower leads to the port captains office and on the inside of the door is the sign that reads " Complaint Department - Through this door!"
Anyone else?
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Comments [1]
06/10/2012, Loreto
We left Yellowstone this morning, by sailing off of our anchor, no motor!! We had a great sail for about 6 miles, and then the wind just died!! we sail more later then motored then sailed...you get the idea.
We are now anchored off the beach of Loreto...but don't plan on staying long...this is wide open,....and very rough, rolly and polly.
We will get a few fresh veggies in the AM, and try to send a few internet notes and get out of here!!
More in the morning when we find an internet source
TB
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06/08/2012, Isla Monserrate
For the first time since we have been here in Mexico, we have gotten to experience the crystal clear waters we have been hearing about. We are anchored in 22 feet of water, and can see every link in the anchor chain, not to mention the anchor. We have been snorkeling several times, as the water is pretty warm, about 72 degrees, and amazingly clear. Jeanne has put our new Pentax underwater camera to good use, and with 30-35 feet of visibility, gotten some great footage. Today's highlight has to be getting some awesome shots of the small Bullseye Electric Ray. He is a diminutive little guy, but commands a lot of respect due to his ability to deliver up to a 37 volt charge to anyone that does not give him some space. They are only about ten inches, but hard to miss as they have a very bright dot, right in the middle of the head. Tom also swam along side a 4 1/2 foot Panamic Green Moray Eel who was out in the open sandy bottom, searching for a snack.....very cool, but a little ominous.
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06/07/2012, Isla Monserrate
Yellowstone beach that is, here on the north end of Isla Monserrate. Despite the enjoyable amenities of the resort, we have escaped Bahia Candeleros and had a very nice morning run over to Monserrate.
While there was little or no wind, with nearly flat seas for the 12 mile run, we did get to witness our first truly huge bait-ball, and the way all the local birds interact with it. If any of you have had a chance to see some of the BBC or National Geographic films on the oceans, you have surely seen the way the larger game fish drive the small bait fish, or sardines toward the surface, where they bunch up in an effort to hide from the feeding frenzy that is going on not only below the surface, but on top as well. There were hundreds of Pelicans, gulls, and boobies all diving and swooping in to get an easy meal.
Yellowstone beach is so named, due to the large limestone cliffs that front the beach here. These sedimentary layers hold much of the history of the sea, with layer after layer of fossils. Scallops, plants, a few fish all preserved in the limestone. We will do some more exploring tomorrow morning.
We plan on staying here for a few days, until we return to the Loreto area. We will not be posting any pictures until then, but promise to catch up again when we get back to town.
It is 9:30 Pm and I need to wrap this up so we can go see the "Space Station" as it passes in orbit right over our location at 9:40
Manan
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06/04/2012, Bahia Salinas
Mexico in the summer....not something a lot of people do. Even the majority of the people who are down here on boats, all put the boat in a marina, and head back to the states, or Canada for the hot summer months of July, August and September. When Jeanne and I started on our adventure, we knew that we would be traveling on a pretty tight budget, so random airfare would be out of the question. That also means that we were going to have to find a way to stay comfortable during the hottest moths of the year down here. We have decided against air conditioning...for the time being at least. It is a bit expensive, and bulky. Where do we store a 3 foot by three foot by 2 foot box, the rest of the year?
We have installed several fans through out the boat, including one that can be moved around. Last week I enlarged the cockpit bench seats so that we can sleep on them, especially when the inside of the boat starts getting hot as an oven. We have our instant ice maker so we will have cold drinks all summer. Jeanne has made screens for all the hatch openings to keep the bugs out if they should become a problem. We have floating toys so we can spend a lot of time in the water. We even made an awning, that will attach to the whisker pole, out over the water, so when we are in our floaties...we will be in the shade. This awning even include a couple of drink holders.
The last thing was our hair...mine has gotten pretty long since the last hair cut I got was the first week of march......2011!! Jeanne did cut the bulk of her long hair, it was down to the belt, off just before leaving Seattle. So, with the upcoming heat in mind, we headed to the beach, to the red bucket hair salon.
After a bit of discussion, it was decided that I would give Jeanne her haircut first!! Many thanks to Ann Marie and Chris off of SV Starship for coming along to be our photographers and document our hair cuts.
Now despite my many skills, I have never graduated from any form of Barber College, as a matter of fact, I am pretty sure I have never even cut the hair of pet, let alone my lovely wife!
But cut it I did, and as the piles of hair gathered on the beach, my confidence grew. Along with Ann Marie's quality control assurance, I continued loping it off. Until is was all the same length...very short.
Ummm sweetie...lets take down all the mirrors
Then it was her turn. She seemed to have a better hand at this than I did, as she made very quick work of the long hair that I had accumulated these last nearly 16 months.
It is done....and I have no regrets. If for no other reason than the ease of diving and snorkeling. That along with the fact that there is a shower that follows every swim in the salt water. The amount of water it took to wash and rinse became a bit of an issue. We have a water maker on board, but I felt like there was a lot of water being wasted just on my hair.
It is certainly a whole lot cooler, and that was the primary reason for our new do's. I figure by the time winter gets here, it will have mostly all grown back, and we will be glad to have a bit of our heads covered.
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06/04/2012, Bahia Salinas
Here are a few pictures that Tom took, while Jeanne was documenting the historic old "Company Town" of Salinas, the site of a huge salt minig facility. The town is now seeing some renovation due to the private introduction of Big Horn Sheep to the island, and the enormus fees that are charged to hunt them. It is rumored to be in excess of 35 thousand US dollars to participate in an hunt, and that is wether you get a sheep or not!!
I could tell that the brown Pelican was very excited to have Eagle anchored there in his bay....so his cover shot is at the top of this story
Any way, here are a few misc shots I took:
This 6" crab lives in holes they dig in the beach, right at the tide line. they are very secretive, shy and almost never seen. This guy on the other hand, had no fear and wandered right down the beach eating as he please. It might be good to point out that he is almost three times the size of any I have ever seen
One of the local catus that has gone into bloom
This is a look at the old city, from Eagle right at sunset.
Jeanne had found some really big ugly bugs, that were eatting on the blooms of this plant and just had to get up close and personal
The up side to my long telephoto lense....I dont have to climb into the bushs, i cheat and stand back away from the nasty looking black bug and take the picture
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